Chapter Eleven: Sanctus Inferno
"The first flame doesn’t need to be a bonfire—just a spark brave enough to touch dry silence."
The video leaked at exactly 3:00 a.m.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ5SsMCSgVS5
The hour of mercy—how poetic.
Ella uploaded it on a ghost server routed through five countries, posted by a fake account named Tiberius_7.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡk5bocTanik
It was shaky footage, just under two minutes, showing a young boy inside the seminary laundry room. Crying. Back turned. And the blurry silhouette of a man in a cassock entering behind him.
The audio was corrupted.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡIQMSoCGci3
But silence… was louder.
Within six hours, it had 1.8 million views.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡlxGLy968Ce
By lunchtime, it was front page on Reddit, X, TikTok edits, and prayer forums exploding with comments:
“Please be fake. PLEASE.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡvBmsTaatSc
“I studied in that university. I knew something was off.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡwiFUDVnG3z
“Heard rumors in 2016. They silenced our guidance counselor.”
At the heart of it all, Ely and Ella watched in quiet rage.
“That’s just one,” Ella said. “How many more are we dropping?”
“Enough to shake the altar,” Ely replied. “But one every week. Slowly. Let them burn alive in public doubt.”
Ella bit her lip.
“You sure you can handle this, Father?”
“I’m not a priest anymore.”
By Thursday, the Order retaliated.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡogFwAC7AL7
They issued a polished press statement:
“The video is under investigation. We urge the public not to spread unverified content that may damage the sanctity of the faith. The Augustinian University stands with the victims—if any—while preserving the dignity of the clergy.”
“If any.”8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡTELGlZi9AU
Those two words slapped like holy water laced with mockery.
But that was just the beginning.
Friday. 7:14 p.m.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡxF3UjP71xR
Ella’s condo.
Her phone buzzed.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡHRiNTBXbcI
Unknown number.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXUqfbYLGoe
Text only.
“Your parents' mortgage is under our name. Careful what you burn, girl.”
She paled.
Ely took her phone, stared at the message. Then deleted it.
“We expected this,” he said. “They’re afraid.”
“They’re monsters.”
“Yes,” he said. “But monsters only hide in churches when people keep singing.”
They were followed the next day.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡqiOSHSFfJX
Plain-looking men in plain-looking cars.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ8lQ3VzCnYl
One of them dropped an envelope on Ella’s doorstep—inside was a rosary, a bullet, and a photo of her walking home from the grocery.
She didn’t cry.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡXq2mKsFQlv
Not this time.
Instead, she whispered, “Do it. Let the whole world see what kind of priests you protect.”
The second video dropped ten days later.
This one showed a senior priest at the altar after Mass, ushering a female student into the sacristy, locking the door. The timestamp revealed the girl was sixteen. Her name was censored. But her uniform wasn’t.
The scream was faint but clear.
In response, the university filed a cyber libel complaint against “unidentified individuals.”
Anonymous donors funded a billboard just outside the campus gate:
“Where Confessions Are Recorded… but Only Sins of the Weak Are Punished.”
Social media turned into a warzone.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡAhRilkgUN4
Ex-seminarians started speaking anonymously.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtbrPB6RksS
A few backed Ely.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡ6D6BlBm2s5
Most stayed silent, afraid.
"How many voices must crack before a cathedral crumbles?"
At midnight, Ely sat in front of a candle-lit altar. No icons. No saints. Just truth.
Ella joined him, barefoot.
“They’ll come for us,” she said.
“Let them.”
“And if we die?”
“Then let every stone in their empire remember our names.”
The final shot:
Ella lights the third USB. Burns it.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡDeOBdBrdie
Its contents already scheduled to drop in 72 hours.8Please respect copyright.ＰＥＮＡＮＡtZQWLl1rOI
No one can stop it now.
Not even God.
ns216.73.216.203da2
